Press



(No Model.) l

J. D. BOWMAN. PRESSURE REGULATOR FOR GAS GONDUITS.

No. 405,244. Patented June 18, 1889-.,

fn@ u INI/51101018.:

WIZJYE'BSES:

NA PETERS. Fholwlhngrnpher. Wnhnghm. D. CV

UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN D. BOVMAN, OF ALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA.

PRESS U RE- REG U LATOVR FO R GAS-CON DU ITS.

SPECIFIATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 405,244, dated June 18, 1889. Application filed January l2, l889i Serial No. 296,203. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern;

Beit known that I, J onN D. BOWMAN, of Altoona, county of Blair, State of Pennsylvania, have invented ak new and useful Improved Pressure-Regulator for GasfConduits, of which the following is a true and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to the ccnstructionof a device for regulatingthe pressure and flow of gas in conduits, being especially designed for use in connection with systems of lighting by means of carb'ureted air, but adapted also for use in any and all gas-conduits.

The novel features of my device are hereinafter clearly pointed out in the claims, and are fully described in connection with the drawings forming part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of my device in the form especially designed by me for use on railway-cars and in connection with a system of lighting such cars by carbureted air, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the said device.

A and A indicate gas-conduits leading, respectively, to and from the regulating device.

B is the regulating-valve,' placed, as is usual With such valves, over a valve-seat at the mouth of the pipe from whichdthe gas is passing.

D is the regulating-valve chamber, C a chamber connected with valvechamber C and adapted to contain a certain amount of fluid, preferably mercury.

D is a float, situated in chamber C', having an internal hollow or chamber d, and a passage CZ, leading from the bottom of said chamber d downward and opening at the bottom of the float. Where mercury is used in chamber C', the iioat D is most conveniently made of cast-iron. The oat D and valve B must be connected together by some convenient mechanism which will cause the valve to move up or down as the float moves up or down in chamber C. As shown, this is accomplished by a lever B to which the valve B is pivoted, and which is pivoted at one end to a lug extending up from a screw-plug E, in which is also formed a seat for the valve B. This lever B" is pivoted at its other end b to a link B2, which link is pivotedy at h2 to the iioat D. This mechanism is Welladapted for the special construction shown in the drawings, but can of course be `varied in a great number of ways to suit any other special constructions in which my invention may be embodied.

To keep the float D centered in the iioatchamber C', I provide a guide-rod F with wings f, by which it is made to fit quite closely in passage CZ without interfering with the flow of mercury or other liquid through said passage; and to prevent the iioat from rising in chamber C above a determined height, I provide a stop F', which serves this purpose, as is shown in the drawings.

Gis a diaphragm interposed in the exitpassage leading from the regulating -valve chamber C, a perforation g of small area being made in this diaphragm.

O and O are openings or passages formed in the regulating-valve chamber and adapted to receive and couple with the pipes A and A of the conduit.

l-I is a passagel'eading from a point in the exit-pipe above that in which the diaphragm 'G is secured; I, a pipe connecting at its upper end withv passage H and leading downward therefrom;v J, a pipe forming, with pipe' I, a U-tube, as shown; K, a blow-off chamber situated at the top of pipe J, and L an open pipe leading from the top of the blow-off chamber.

Mare sight-holes connected With pipe I. Preferably I form the regulating-valve chamber C and blow-off chamber K oi' a single casting, as indicated by the letter N, the passage H being also formed in this casting, as well as the openings O O, to which the conduit-pipes are connected. By attaching the iioat-chamber C and the U-tube I J to this casting, as shown, and inserting the operative mechanism, the device is embodied in a very compact and strong form, and can be attached to a wallsuch as the side of a car-by screws M M or other devices.

The device is put together as shown in the drawings and already described. Mercury (indicated by the letter P) is placed in the chamber C in such quantity as will normally IOO support the iloat D, and through the connectproper height above its seat. Vhen gas is passing into the chambe C through pipe A, it is also of course in communication with the chamber C', and presses on the surface of the mercury surrounding the float D, causing the .fiuid to pass upward through the passage d in the bottom of the iioat into the enlarged hollow CZ. As the level of the mercury falls on the outside of the float, the float will fall in the chamber C.' The mercury in passing through the passage CZ spreads out over the bottom of the enlarged hollow d', adding its weight to the normal weight of the float, and of course as the float falls the valve B is drawn down toward its seat, checking and at a proper point cutting off entirely the ilow of through pipe A. The bottom of the hollow d is preferably formed so as to slope from all sides toward the center, as is indicated at cl2, the passage d leading downward from the lowest point of thewbottom. This construction prevents mercury from lodging in the hollow d. The hollow d is of course perfectly closed at all points, except through the passage cl, and as the air contained in the hollow resists the tendency of the gas to torce the mercury up into it the action of the device can be madevery delicate and a most perfect regulation of pressure obtained. By using the guide-rod F, passing up from the bottom of chamber C through passage d, the upward and downward motion of the oat is not i11- terfered with, but the iioat is maintained in the center of the chamber C and prevented from coming in contact with its sides, which of course is highly important. The stop-rod F prevents the lioat from rising beyond a determined height, and also ot course prevents the valve from rising above its seat beyond a determined maximum. The rod also prevents the lioat from being thrown upward by sudden jars or shocks. The U-tube IJ is iilled with mercury, and, in connection with the diaphragm G, serves the purpose of an indicator to show the rate at which gas is flowing through the exit-pipe A', the gas passing from the regulatingvalve chamber (,f through the perforated diaphragm Gr, and by means of the passage II acting on the face of the mercury in the top of tube I, pressing it downward i-n said tube and upward in the other leg J of the U-tube, the level of the mercury being visible within the necessary limits through sight-holes fi Ai. There the pressure exceeds that at which the mercury in the U-tube I .I will be entirely pressed out of the tube I, the gas escapes into pipe J, bubblingthrough the mercury therein and escaping into the blow-oit chamber K, which is arranged to prevent mercury from being lost, the gas or air escaping from the top of the blow-oft chamber through pipe L to the atmosphere without adnlixture with the mercury.

The indicating device here shown and above briefly described forms no part of my present invention, but is the subjectinatter of another application filed by me December 13, 1888, in the United States Patent Oiice, said application having received the.Serial No. 293,421, and the blow-oit illustrated is also the subject of another application iiled in the United States Patent Office November 6, 1888, and bearing the Serial No. 290,076.

So far as these devices are concerned, the only feature of novelty for which I seek protection by this application is the special construction illustrated, by which the regulatingvalve chamber and blow-off chamber are formed of the same casting in which provision is made for the attachment ot the other parts of the apparatus, as hereinbefore de scribed IIavin g now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A pressureregulator for gas-conduits, consisting of a regulating-valve interposed in the conduit, in combination with a chamber C', closed to the air and connected with the gas-conduit only and adapted to contain Huid, a float D, situated in said chamber, having a hollow d in it closed to the air, and an open passage d, leading downward from said hollow into chamber C', and mechanism connect ing the valve and float, substantially as specified, and so as to move the valve to or from its seat as the iloat falls or rises.

2. A pressure-regulator for gas-conduits, consisting of a regulating-valve interposed in the conduit, in combination with a chamber C', closed to the air and connected with the gas-conduitonly and adapted to contain iluid, a float D, situated in said chamber, having a hollow d in it closed to the air, and an open passage d, leading downward from said hollow into chamber C', a guide F, to maintain the float in the center of the chamber, and mechanism connecting the valve and iioat., substantially as specified, and so as to move the valve to or from its seat as the float falls or rises.

3. A pressure-rcgulator for gas-conduits, consisting of a regulatin g-valve interposed in the conduit, in combination with a chamber C', closed to the air and connected with the gas-conduit only and adapted to contain iiuid, a i'loat D, situated in said chamber, having a hollow d in it closed to the air, and an open passage d, leading downward from said hollow into chamber C, an adjustable stop I4", arranged to prevent the i'loat from rising above a determined point in the chamber, and mechanism connecting the valve and iioat, substantially as specified, and so as to move the valve to or from its seat as the float falls or rises.

4. A pressure-regulator for gas-conduits, consisting of a regulating-valve interposedin the conduit, in combination with a chamber C', closed to the air and connected with the gas-conduit only and adapted to contain fluid,

IIO

a float D, situated in said chamber, having a hollow d in it closed to the air and with sloping bottomdz, and-an open passage d, leading downward from the lowest point of bottom d2 into chamber C', and mechanism connecting the valve and float, substantially as specified, and so as to move the valve to or from its seat as the float falls or rises.

5. The cast-ing N, containing Valve-chainber C, blow-off chamber K, openings O O for conduit-connections, and passage H, in cornbinationvwith heat-chamber C', U-pipe J I, connecting passage H with the blow-olf chamber, float D, Valve B, mechanism connecting said valve and float, as specified, and diai5 phragln G, secured in opening O below the mouth of passage H, all Substantially as and for-the purpose Specified.

JOHN D. BOWMAN. Witnesses:

E. M. PROSSER, R. A; FRAKER. 

